It’s a super delicious fall dessert! This Caramel Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust is a marbled cheesecake with both plain and pumpkin cheesecake batter. It’s made with a ginger snap cookie crust that’s the perfect crust for it and then topped with caramel sauce. Perfect for Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving Desserts
I’ve been making this Caramel Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust for Thanksgiving dinner for many years. I’ve been asked, o.k. almost begged, to make this pumpkin cheesecake recipe for Thanksgiving.
One year, I didn’t make it because I brought The Best Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie and White Chocolate Cranberry Cannoli instead. You would have thought I didn’t bring the turkey! I saw the disappointment in my niece and brother-in-law’s faces.
First, their eyes enlarged followed by the frowns after I told them I didn’t make the Pumpkin Marble Cheesecake. He still scarfed down those cannoli though.
It is the perfect make-ahead dessert to conclude Thanksgiving dinner! It is absolutely amazingly delicious! This is no exaggeration! Your guests will LOVE it!
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This Caramel Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust is a wonderful combination of pumpkin pie spices, cheesecake and gingersnap flavors.
Just look at it! Could any pumpkin cheesecake lover walk past this cake without taking a piece? Would the baker be the star of the party! Certainly!
I’ll show you how easy it is to make! I make this cake the day before Thanksgiving but, you could even make it on Tuesday and it’ll still be great for Thanksgiving.
You could freeze it too but, I like a fresh cheesecake on Thanksgiving but, I totally understand if you’re hosting.
So, here’s the link to my Less Stress Thanksgiving Planner. Read it, PRINT IT, and hang it on your fridge several weeks before Thanksgiving!
That post has my Lemon Ginger Cranberry Relish that was featured two years in a row on Good Housekeeping so, you want to make that three days before Thanksgiving to make the turkey sing praises!
Ok, back to this amazing Caramel Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust!
This cheesecake recipe originated from a Pumpkin Marble Cheesecake recipe from Kraft Ultimate Philly Cheesecakes Cream Cheese recipe book I bought from them.
This cheesecake recipe book is so old and has made through two moves without being lost! Although, I have this recipe almost memorized by now.
Showing up to Thanksgiving dinner without this Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake would bring long faces and disappointment so, one time, I drove to three different grocery stores looking for pumpkin puree because apparently there was a shortage of pumpkin? What? The horror! The wonderful things we take for granted.
I made some modifications from the original recipe. You can find other great Thanksgiving recipes on Kraft Recipes, but this particular recipe is no longer available online as far as I can tell.
Caramel Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust
*The full printable recipe is shown in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
First, preheat your oven to 325F.
Then, make the gingersnap crust by putting 8 oz of gingersnap cookies or spiced wafers into a food processor and pulse until they are crumb-like.
Next, melt butter and mix the butter with the cookie crumbs in a 9″ spring form pan.
Then, press the ginger snap crumbs (mixed with melted butter) into the bottom and up the sides to about 1 1/2 inches with a spoon. Next, bake in 325F oven for 10 min. Let cool.
Meanwhile, make the batter. In a mixing bowl, add softened cream cheese, eggs, vanilla extract and 3/4 cup of sugar (reserving 1/4 cup for the pumpkin.) Beat on med/high speed for about 2 minutes so the cream cheese will come out creamy. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the white cheesecake batter in a separate bowl.
Read How to Make a Creamy Cheesecake Without Cracks!
Then, add pumpkin puree, remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, ground cinnamon, ground cloves and ground nutmeg to the batter.
Next, add the pumpkin batter to the cooled Gingersnap crust. Then, top the pumpkin batter with the white cheesecake batter.
How to Swirl the Cheesecake
Dip a knife in a straight horizontal line from one side of the cake to the other four times about 2 inches apart. Repeat from top to bottom in a vertical fashion.
Note: the batter pictured is a bit runny from sitting out. Therefore, I had to put the knife in and lift up some of the pumpkin batter to get more of it on top in order to make the swirls. So, if this happens to you, you’ll now know how to fix it.
Viola, you know have a marbled effect!
Bake the cheesecake on 325F for about 55 min. You may want to add a pan of water on the rack beneath the cake to help prevent cracking.
Cool the cake on the counter away from heat for about an hour before moving to the refrigerator and DO NOT REMOVE THE SPRING FORM CAKE SIDES while it is cooling.
Add caramel ice cream topping just before serving the cake.
This Caramel Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust is absolutely amazingly delicious! It is a wonderful combination of pumpkin spices, cheesecake and gingersnap make ahead dessert that will make your Thanksgiving and any fall party over the top!
It really is the perfect dessert to serve at Thanksgiving dinner to wow your family and guests! Thanksgiving just isn’t the same without it!
See more Thanksgiving desserts. You’ll love the The Best Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie! Oh my!
You may also like:
Amish Pumpkin Whoopie Pie Recipe
I took this recipe to Weekend Potluck.
Caramel Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust
Ingredients
- 2 cups gingersnap crumbs 8 oz of cookies and pulse in a food processor
- 1/3 cup butter, melted
Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake Batter
- 3 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sugar, divided
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 3 dashes ground cloves
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F.
Gingersnap Crust
- In a 9 inch round spring form pan, add gingersnap cookie crumbs and melted butter. Mix with a spoon until well combined. Press into the bottom and up the sides of the pan about 1 to 1/12 inches. Bake at 325F for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool.
Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake Batter
- Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, eggs, vanilla, 3/4 cup of sugar. Beat on low for 1-2 minutes. Remove 1 1/2 cups of the batter, put it into a separate bowl and set aside.
- Add pumpkin puree, remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves to the remaining cheesecake batter.
- Cheesecake Assembly
- Pour the pumpkin cheesecake batter into the cooled gingersnap crust. Spoon some of the white cheesecake batter onto 6 sections of the pumpkin cheesecake. Make swirls: Dip a knife in a straight horizontal line from one side of the cake to the other four times about 2 inches apart. Repeat from top to bottom.
- Bake the swirled cheesecake on 325F for about 55-60 min. on the middle rack position in the oven. Place a pan of water on the rack underneath the cake to help avoid cracking. Let the cake cool for 40 minutes or longer before moving to the refrigerator to get cold.
- Drizzle 1-2 tablespoons of caramel ice cream sauce on top of the Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake before serving.
Nutrition
Hope you like the recipe. Happy Holidays.
Never tried making these before, looks like a delicious recipe. Thanks for sharing.
You are so very welcome! I hope you enjoy it as much as our family does!
This sounds delish! Thanks for sharing the recipe! 🙂
Thanks. It sure is a great flavor combination… perfectly perfect!
Beautifully done and I’m all for gingersnaps and pumpkin. I think it is a great flavor combination.
This looks so very delicious! Love the mix of cream cheese with pumpkin and ginger. Such a wonderful combination.